Leopold's brave recovery from a dog attack

Sadly, our dog Leopold was attacked and viciously mauled by two much larger dogs whilst on his usual walk. Despite our efforts to pull the attackers away, this terrifying incident lasted for over 20 seconds, and whilst he is traumatised physically and mentally the only lucky thing to be thankful for is that brave Leopold survived!  

After being rushed to emergency,  the Dr informed us that bar one incident in memory these are “the worst dog attack injuries we have ever seen”.

Leopold has just undergone his major surgery but still might not be able to come home anytime soon due to the nature of his injuries and stability of his condition. The initial estimate was around $10,000, but with his extended stay for surgery and essential drip painkillers and antibiotics, the final cost (not including any essential follow-ups, consults, or rectifying complications) has now come to $14,500. We've been unable to find owner of the attackers.

Whilst the cost is steep it was never an option for us not to find a way to pay it. Leopold is a bright, loving and very active member of our family, and we won’t deny him the opportunity to live the rest of his long and happy life. Likewise, it is a terrible thought that his last experience and our last memory of him might have been something so incredibly violent and traumatic, so with the right medical care we are thankful that Leopold can look forward to a bright future.

We luckily had some rainy-day funds set aside, and were able to sell some collectables and other items to raise some funds for his treatment. We have held off creating a GoFundMe as we tried to find ways to pay these costs ourselves, but a number of people have sent us messages of support and generous offers to donate.

We are not looking to raise the full $14,500, having raised most of it using our savings, selling some items, and support from some family members and friends (thank you!) However, if we could raise any part of the last $5,500 it would mean so much to us! We are prepared if this fundraiser does not meet that goal, so please do not stress if you cannot donate - these are tough economic times for everyone, and by all means just holding Leopold's swift recovery in your thoughts (or simply spreading the word) is help enough <3

For reference, your kind donation (if you can afford to) will go toward vet and surgeon costs including items such as:

- Emergency and Critical Care Hospitalisation costs
- ER consultations and referrals
- Fentanyl and other drip painkillers
- X-rays and blood tests
- Regular wound cleaning, debride, dressings, and continual nurse monitoring
- Specialist and surgeon consultation
- Anaesthesia
- Major invasive/reconstructive surgery
- Monitoring, follow-up minor surgery, and first course of pain killer and anti-anxiety oral medications upon discharge 

Every little donation helps no matter how small, and if you are in the position to help we can't thank you enough!

For those of you who know Leopold we will be sending your love and support to him whenever we can visit. For those who haven’t yet met him, we look forward to helping him through this experience and his road to recovery together, so that he can meet you one day too!

If you would like to stay in the loop about Leopold's recovery, we have regular updates posted to this Facebook thread , which is public and should be visible even without your own Facebook account. 

We look forward to bringing you positive news about his recovery! Thank you for reading <3